Since joining Al Ain, the Egypt international has been putting in some incredible performances, scoring seven goals and assisting 12 in 12 appearances for the club in all competitions, which pushed the club to make the deal permanent.

His form has seen him handed his first international call-up by Egypt manager Hector Cuper as he was among 17 foreign-based players who were included in the Pharaohs’ squad for March friendlies against Portugal and Greece.

“There are several clubs that tried to enter negotiations with Misr El-Makkasa to sign Hussien El-Shahat, including Emirati, Gulf, and Egyptian clubs,” Hammad said.

“El-Shahat’s signing is considered the most difficult and easiest deal the club has made during the past period.

“The ease of the deal lies in bringing the player and the good relationship with Misr El-Makkasa. What made Al Ain eager to sign the El-Shahat is that the player settled in very quickly as well as the player’s desire to stay at the club.

“The difficulty was in the attempts to affect his focus and concentration in an important stage of the season, however, all parties succeeded in dealing with those conditions calmly and wisely,” he added.

Al Ain are currently top of the league table on 44 points, four above second-placed Al Wahda with three games remaining. Their next game will be against Al Hilal on Monday, April 2 in the AFC Champions League.